2067.
October 22nd, 8:46PM.
What transpired in the last couple hours is ingrained in the minds of these unprepared explorers.
Traveling downstairs, in the belly of the underground, does little to numb the pain. They have been jumping from platform to platform for what seems to be eternity.
Zephyr is the middleman, using his torch blade as a source of light to help with guidance. The lamp got lost while they were jumping between platforms. This is an extreme counter measure.
Flashlights cast a beam of light at the spot they are pointing and don't always do a good job of highlighting their surroundings, especially on shorter drawing distances. On the other hand, his torch blade creates an ambient light that illuminates at a greater scale the area they inhabit. Plus, it sets a charming atmosphere that calms the paranoia, while saving the flashlight's batteries.
The decision is Zephyr's. The rest of them is on the fence about the switch. Alister complained three times in the last 20 minutes about Zeph wasting good flames that could be used against foes. The hunter is not in a good mood, not that the rest feels any different.
The hunter is the one leading them, keeping the flashlight he has with him to help see what's in front of them. He tasked the young blacksmith with keeping watch on the doctor, feeling too preoccupied with his anger to deal with him.
Riley J. Smith is closer to stationary.
The scientist exhibits signs of disorder and instability. He's been tip-toing between taunting Alister, too engrossed with leading the pack to the bottom of the pit to care, and swallowing himself in despair, walking at the pace of a snail and shattering in tears. Zephyr constantly monitors him and helps him reach the platforms bellow, as if their dynamic became akin to a worker and a patient living in an asylum.
Riley is breaking down the deeper he goes. He's fine one minute, a dead weight the other.
It's been over a day of going down and going down and going down, only taking short 20 to 30 minutes breaks, and one long power nap break on larger platforms. They have made it to checkpoint number 11 989.
Riley tried to jump off the platforms many times since the halfway point.
It's a rough time.
They are on-the-lookout for signs of suspicious movement. They are acquainting themselves to this vile environment, these walls with complete control on their fate. The only trail from these walls that are visible are those lighted up by Zephyr's torch blade or the assassin's flashlight. Riley is stuck in his own world, unable to use the flashlight that Zephyr forced himself to give. Aside from looking at his device on occasion, grief and misery has rendered the scientist useless.
Only Eylventh, who's flying ahead, can see all of the details unfold in front of it. The rest are required to deal with light so bleak it would signify death to travel without any means of vision.
They walk, reflect and try to survive.
After a bit more travelling, Zephyr decides to suddenly stop on the 11 893rd platform, one platform that is massively different from the others, mostly because of how ginormous it is, far wider than the halfway point was, and thicker too.
When he puts off the fire from the torch blade, the hunter stops and sighs while staring upwards.
"No, you can't be serious." Whispers Alister to himself.
Zephyr plants his torch blade on the ground, gets his bag of food and supplies out of his back and drops them to the floor.
"You can drop them too; we're taking another break."
Alister is confused and offended by the sudden decision of the child, almost jumping to the next platform without hearing the boy say his piece.
"We are not taking another fucking break. it's been 30 minutes since the last one. Asks before deciding random decisions that benefits nobody!"
"Please calm down. The doctor is already, well, he's not doing well and it's slowing us down. He's the one who wanted to explore that bad. We need him alive and sadly..."
Both turn around to Riley. He looks like he already lost grip of his humanity. He sends a laughable smirk at Alister's behavior.
Zephyr's request makes Alister clench his fists in rage, but this display from the lost scientist pushes Alister away from the anger button. He simply walks off and grunts. In the scientist's desperation, seeing the hunter mad gives him a bit of life.
"While we're at it, does anyone have the same problem as me? I have been having issues with my stomach. I am not feeling hungry, nor do I feel like my metabolism has changed in any shape or form. Does any of you feel this way?" points out Zephyr. Only Riley and Urth, who followed closely this whole time, gives a clear "no" answer.
"You slowed down, from a snail to a rock, to drop that in? Shut the hell up and walk!" furiously yells the hunter.
"This place is big enough to take a break and we have no clue of how far we are from the last checkpoints. It's been a day of jumping on top of platforms and we were at the halfway point."
The doctor chimes in, revealing the watch like they never saw it before.
"I have been tracking the amount of time spent in the Bottomless Pit since the moment we landed on the halfway point, as well as my location in relation to the depth of the Bottomless Pit. It's a bit fuzzy, but so far it has been-."
"Okay no no slow down! Suddenly, I'm supposed to believe you kicked yourself out of trauma once in a while to check your watch!?" Retaliates the hunter.
"Lousy assassin. It has been in close to three days since we entered this hell hole. Zephyr hasn't eaten, yet he feels as fine as he was when we left the ground above us. Don't you question what is going around you? Are you just too stubborn to have thoughts around your precious target?" Says Riley in a degrading tone.
"I don't give a fuck, Riley! We're too slow! We must keep moving! You can have discussions about bees with guns and high-flying squirrel all you fucking want but do that while moving towards the end goal!"
"Haha! Seigneur, not only are you untrustworthy, you are also a bore. You're the one speaking of exploring the pit, but the second we bring anything that could further said exploration, you throw a fit, like a crying child! Get some maturity for once, Alister!"
"I am going to bash your skull in. You are out there acting like you got split personalities, trying to get under my skin, and now I'm supposed to converse about anything with your dumbass !?" Retaliated the hunter.
Riley J. Smith, the evil scientist.
Alister, the fearsome assassin.
They are bickering for what must be the 1000th time. Zephyr facepalms at the sight of those two arguing again.
It seems fun to deflect and find holes in one's argument. Zephyr had nobody to do that with. Both participate in this verbal back and forth religiously, a ritual to cope with their situation.
They keep screaming at each other, but no hands are being thrown. Zephyr, yawning over this cat fight, drops the last of his supplies on the platform they stand on, waiting for the "battle" to finish. At this moment he can find some placebo of peace. The Bottomless Pit knows to be entertaining, sometimes dull. As long as the nightmare isn't constant, there is a way out. Zephyr loosely holds faith to that belief himself, his skin cracking multiple times during those 3 days. However, with his new little buddy Urth by his side, as little can a frog the size of a tree trunk be, things are manageable. Manageable, to a degree.
The blacksmith fixates on his belly, not quite sure on how he feels this fine. His body and his stamina haven't given up on him and as far as he's concerned, the lack of food in his system hasn't translated into a loss of weight that could be traumatic. With the few crumbs of knowledge he has of the situation, Zephyr blames the Bottomless Pit for this lack of hunger, as well as thirst. He hasn't touched a single lick of water too and he's not close to feeling dehydrated. He then realizes he's been wearing the same clothes for the last 3 days. If he exploded into charcoal and went to war with that demon, he should have excreted sweat enough to fill a bathtub out of it. Yet he doesn't smell horrible. The temperature of his body is average. Clearly Alister must be hot under this black armour and all the moving around he must do.
That's when they hear Eylventh making lots of noises while flying in the sky.
Zephyr's curiosity picks up and when he turns behind him, something appears out of blue.
Almost like a fairy tale, light comes out of the tunnel.
There are dozens, thousands of small spherical entities sticking together like family, traveling in pacts of twenty, and simply looming around in the darkness, erasing it, enlightening it. They are bathing the pit with a light so vivid; From the scientist to Eylventh, everyone can see the sky above.
Stars.
It is already midnight.
They are left speechless by the amount of beauty this scenery holds. The dark, desaturated purple walls blend in with the night sky and the clouds. It's thanks to these little guys. Where do they come from? What's their motivation, their instincts? How can they emanate so much light that the darkness no longer poses as an issue? Riley J. Smith's eyes betray his earlier state. He went from purgatory to nirvana.
Eylventh has yet to stop flying by the side of those lights, joy expressed on its facial features. Some of the lights fly around the winged alligator as well. Urth is enjoying the view and croaks wholesomely by Zephyr's feet. Maybe the blacksmith's grandfather was right. All he had to do to get to see this, was forging forward.
Zephyr notices that it took little for Riley and Alister to change subject matter. The scientist is taken aback by this gift from the underworld, sitting there, observing what he sees with a peculiar look of ecstasy.
The discoveries came to them, uncalled for. There was no build up to this. Eylventh screamed and then,
Illumination.
This is natural light at its strongest, most powerful and, especially in this journey, most beautiful.
Riley turns his head towards Alister. He sees a man with remorse on his face. That is his interpretation, but there's a meek smirk written on the expression of the hunter. Riley's sense of wonder comes to another halt.
Discoveries of that nature would have been a blessing, accompanied by anyone but Alister. Payback is what the doctor wants to unleash. Zephyr sees this and sighs. The forging forward thoughts came too soon.
"I have no clue what you are thinking about... But for someone as cold as you, now wouldn't be the time to show those emotions", Says the scientist.
Riley lets these words flow like some sort of provocation, as he stares in the eyes of the hunter with menacing intent. Alister looks at him shortly, before gazing back at the glowing lights. Riley couldn't make up a proper expression. He's left baffled.
"You know, some says that there is no way to escape the Bottomless Pit, that it's too unpredictable. I wonder if he ever thought of it that way. What made him decide to jump here?" Asks Alister.
"Who's…he?" Asks Zephyr, perplexed.
As the assassin simmers in those questions, he looks up. Zephyr and Riley follow where his eyes direct. The cloud of smoke above them, the one that supposedly blocked them from returning to the surface.
It has disappeared since.
Zephyr feels tension in his stomach. There was maybe still a chance for them to leave the pit, if only they had waited.
Well, it's too late now.
"I-I am sorry. Maybe your gamble was right! I should have known-!"
"Zeph, you wouldn't have known shit about any of it. Don't beat yourself up."
For once, the assassin shares his glimpse of sympathy towards Zephyr, which surprises the young man. He even puts an awkward, but faint smile for him. Zephyr, relieved, takes it as a sign to not shame himself for his mistake. He smiles back as awkwardly. They both gaze back at the lights, but it doesn't take long for the blacksmith to get distracted.
It's Riley. He's furious.
Seeing such interaction between two people that wished for his death a dozen times, Riley proceeds to gnarl in response. This is ridiculous. After all that has occurred, this foul hunter has the audacity to ignore him and act like he's moved on.
"Unpredictable yes, quite like you, assassin!" follows the doctor. "If there's anyone who should beat themselves over anything, it's you! You followed me here into the depths, and now there's no going back! You are stuck with ME, YOUR TARGET!"
A few seconds passes. Before slowly turning his head towards the scientist's direction. He proceeds to giggle. Softly.
"Oh really now? You must think it's reverse day or something. Me? Stuck with you? What about the contrary?"
Alister's answer, with his head high up as if he's looking down on the doctor, is a blow to the mask of confidence Riley wears. They have another stare down, except the power imbalance couldn't be more apparent. The scientist is looking at Alister like a butterfly caught in a spider's web. His whole body is trembling.
"Ah W-Well. That's...T-That's because YOU FAILED!" The scientist shouts, raising his voice thinking it's going to force a change in the scenario. It sure startles the young Zephyr, but Alister remains unfazed by the doctor's scripted bipolarity.
This scream makes the lights stop in their motion, catching Eylventh off guard. It gets too close to one of the orbs but backs off before the strange light can blind it.
Something is odd with the way Alister is acting, now looking at Riley with a terrifying look on his face. This prompts the doctor to move backwards.
"Doc, let me tell you something. That title, assassin. That's an understatement. I am a killer."
"Wha-w-what??" Reponds Riley.
"I do, in fact, kill for a living. That's what I do. That is my profession. If I had a dime for everyone dead by that blade, I would have enough money to retire today. Some of them were just to understand life, birth, death, all that jazz. Because I too got curious about human nature and, to some degree, our anatomy."
The assassin speaks calmly, with this malign, low pitch tonality, reaching for his primal instincts. He approaches the doctor with a slow, methodical pace, placing one foot after another, carefully. The lion is gathering around his meat. The hunter has returned. The prey is frightened.
The lights have kicked off a set of spams.
They stop floating about, simply staying static as they glow in a more erratic matter. Eylventh growls with anxiety, expressing to Zephyr and Urth that something doesn't sit well with the situation. The blacksmith and the frog look at one another. They best get out of this platform, now.
"Uhm, Guys??" Asks Zeph in a state of alarm while grabbing his supplies.
"This desire to understand, has been my motivation to learn. It's my motivation to kill." Continues the assassin. "I wanted to understand a lot about the world. I was an angry child holding a knife, and then an angry child holding that blade. And now, I am an angry man. To this day, I am seeking a LOT of answers, Riley J. Smith."
"I-I do not understand! Where o-on god's name are you getting at!?" Screams the scientist.
Alister smiles from ear to ear. The doctor tries to move backwards until he realizes he's at the edge of the platform already. With no room to breath, Alister keeps walking to him until there is but a few inches separating the predator and the prey. Then, the hunter whispers to his face.
"C'mon, doc. It's just like you said. We're the same."
The doctor, in a mix of shock and bemusement, stares again at Alister. He understands, how much he screwed up once again.
"Oh god. Oh god no!"
The lights are now glowing in a shade of crimson red, as they shake uncontrollably and moves directly towards Alister and Riley. Eylventh, in a frenzy, moves back nearby Zephyr and Urth before it could get swallowed in this thick red light.
"Guys seriously now is not the time for your bickering! I think the lights are-!"
Zephyr's warning doesn't reach them.
"The difference between you and I doc, is that I OWN the hunger! I OWN that thirst, that curiosity! I don't hide like a coward, behind the pile of bodies, the sacrifices! I don't fling over them either. I pay them the proper RESPECT they DESERVE by acknowledging them every waking moment that I can!
"Enough! Please! Alister, that's-!" Begs the scientist.
"I didn't just kill scum bags like you! I killed dads who tried to feed their families! I killed moms who tried to protect their children! I killed folks who had done NOTHING wrong! THEY deserve LIFE! They didn't deserve to die but I killed them still! I am not ashamed to say that I am a garbage human being and ooooh trust me! By the end of the journey, I'm gonna make you see that it's okay! You didn't do it for some grand cause! You just did it for something much, much pettier! That's OKAY, god fucking damnit! That's A-O-K!"
"THAT'S ENOUGH, ALISTER! THAT IS ENOUGH!"
As the doctor screams in agony and in tears these words, the lights are getting closer to them. They haltingly blind the animals and Zephyr. The two other members are too caught up in the heat of the moment to see what's happening around them.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!? IS IT NOW, RILEY!? THEN SAY IT! SAY IT OUT LOUD!! SAY THAT YOU ARE SCUM AMONG EARTHLINGS! SAY IT TO A FELLOW SCUMBAG!! SAY IT TO MY FACE!"
Zephyr interrupts the conversation by grabbing his torch blade, activating the flames, and swinging the sword around like a mad man, forcing the lights to retreat momentarily.